Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne breaks away for a 31-yard run against Iowa on Nov. 13, 1999, in Madison to break the major-college career rushing record set by Ricky Williams of Texas in 1998.

The line of scrimmage, as it had so many times with the benefit of some 1,500 pounds of force, parted like the Red Sea.

Ron Dayne was through it and his 250, 260, 270 pounds - depending on the week - was picking up steam. The the majority of the Minnesota Golden Gophers gave chase, but there were two defensive backs who stood between Dayne and the goal line.

This was a lovely fall day at Camp Randall Stadium late in 1998 and as Dayne was steamrolling toward midfield, the d-back on the near sideline set his feet to prepare for the oncoming cement truck. Dayne lowered his shoulders and mere seconds before the moment of impact, that 180-something pound Gopher lost his courage. He did some kind of ole move and essentially just fell to the ground, arms outstretched as he feigned effort, and Dayne barely touched him as he passed him by.

After four years of watching nearly every game Dayne played at the University of Wisconsin, that's the one play that still sticks out in my mind. He was a fearsome runner but his greatest asset, especially late in games when opponents' bodies became weak and their minds even weaker, was he created fear.

Ron Dayne, the NCAA's all-time career rushing leader, was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame this week. He always has and always will be one of my favorites. He was the rarest of players, a national star who did everything to avoid the spotlight rather than grab a bigger piece of it.

He was painfully shy, was forever passing the credit on to teammates and as a result was pretty much a lousy interview. Yet as his national profile grew every year, his ego never did. He never changed. And you grew to admire him for it.

Besides, we learned far more about Dayne from those around him than we ever could have on our own. Like this story from his coach, Barry Alvarez.

"Just a week ago there was a doctor in town who I know whose son was injured in an accident. Hurt his spleen," Alvarez said during a 1999 interview. "He happened to be on Regent Street and ran into Ron. And he told Ron (about his son), and mentioned where he lived.

"Unannounced, he (Dayne) shows up the next day and sits down with the kid for an hour and just visits with him. And the guy calls me and tells me just how much it meant to his kid and how surprised they were, especially when a guy like Ron takes time out of his schedule and just shows up at the house and spends some time with a kid who's been injured."

Then there was his freshman year - a year in which Dayne finished with 2,109 yards rushing - when the Badgers went off to Tucson for a bowl game and Alvarez noticed Dayne took a package on the plane and it never left his hands the entire trip. He figured they were brownies.

The first night in town, Dayne called Alvarez in his room and said he needed to talk with him. Alvarez was concerned something happened, or had gone wrong and immediately invited Dayne to his room.

Alvarez was the only guy, you may remember, who told Dayne he would give him a chance to play tailback. Everyone else believed Dayne was the fullback of their future.

"We had all the coaches in the room, and he comes up carrying this package," said Alvarez. "He had a picture of himself, signed, to give to me as a Christmas present."

Dayne's official career yardage total, according to the NCAA record books, is 6,397. Toss in the bowl game that were not counted at the time, and he's at 7,125. The numbers could have been far more impressive, but Alvarez was never one to pile on and consistently put Dayne on the pines well before the final seconds ticked away and the game was in hand.

But it doesn't matter, for the chance of either number being eclipsed is a long shot.

It's hard to imagine any college program today - even Wisconsin - committing to handing the ball to a back 30 times a game. It's hard to believe any college program today being able to combine the size and strength of Dayne, his massive offensive line, and transform all of their power and strength not just into a rough and tumble running game, but an art form.

This was a team that, when faced with third-and-five, six, seven or even eight, never thought twice about not calling a running play. And far more times than not, they succeeded.

When you add in the lure of the NFL, the money and the fear of injury, Dayne's place at the top of the all-time rushing lineup appears secure.

As does his place in Wisconsin football history.

It was Nov. 13, 1999, arguably the most electric day ever in the history of Camp Randall.

It began when Dayne broke free on a 31-yard run against Iowa to set the all-time NCAA rushing record and essentially sealed his destiny as the Heisman Trophy winner. The Badgers went on to crush Iowa 41-3 to earn back-to-back Rose Bowl trips for the first time in school history, and with that captured their first undisputed Big Ten title since 1962.

It ended with the players clenching roses between their teeth, "DAYNE 33" revealed on the stadium facade and Alvarez and Dayne sharing a hug on the sideline.

It was a magical day during a magical time, the kind of magic that happens only once in a lifetime.